Every year a significant number of people become confined to wheelchairs for a variety of reasons. Generally, the need for a wheelchair stems from either a total or partial loss of use of the lower extremities. Being confined to a wheelchair, however, does not displace the need for exercise, and often proper exercise can have a therapeutic effect on those parts of the body which are disabled.
In response to this need for exercise, doctors often prescribe swimming which is not only an excellent form of exercise but also has a beneficial therapeutic effect. Recognizing this, many hospitals utilize both whirlpools and full size pools in their rehabilitative departments. While these rehabilitative centers generally have elaborate apparatus to aid the individual in and out of the pools, when one seeks to use either his own pool or else a public facility, entering or exiting the pool can be a significant difficulty. An additional problem is often experienced in public facilities since lifeguards are generally not allowed to leave their stands and cannot assist someone in entering or leaving the pool. Also, there is usually a requirement that special apparatuses be removed once they are used so as to avoid other patrons from injuring themselves thereon. Without assistance, the responsibility falls on the wheelchair user not only to move himself into the pool, but to remove any special equipment which is used.
Of those devices which are effective in aiding the wheelchair-bound individual, most are both large and expensive. Similarly, many require an assistant to actually operate the apparatus. Many of these devices, such as slings and the like, are not only unpleasant to use, but also fail to take advantage of the ability of the confined person to do much of the moving himself. Thus, there has been a definite need for a device which is effective in aiding the individual in using available pool facilities while also being unobtrusive and suitable for use by people who are not similarly confined.
Thus, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a pool ladder which is suitable to be used by individuals who are confined to wheelchairs.
It is another object of this invention to provide such an invention which is unobtrusive and perfectly suitable for everyday use by individuals who are not confined to wheelchairs.
Another object of this invention is to provide a pool ladder which is appropriate for both wheelchair and standard use and can be converted from one to the other by the wheelchair occupant.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a pool ladder which takes advantage of the at least partial ability of the wheelchair-bound individual to move himself.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a pool ladder of the type described which is relatively inexpensive.
It is still a further object of this invention to provide a pool ladder which can be used by most wheelchair-bound individuals without assistance.
While these are some of the main objects of the present invention, other objects and purposes will be evident to those skilled in the field when reading the following detailed description.
Briefly described, the present invention consists of a pool ladder for use by individuals who are confined to wheelchairs. The first two steps of the ladder rise above the pool deck and are both moveably connected to the siderails of the ladder. The first step is at a height substantially equal to the height of a standard wheelchair seat and the second step is slightly higher than the wheelchair footrests. All of the steps rest upon supports which extend between portions of each siderail and serve both as supports for the steps and as handgrips to aid one in lowering himself from one step to the next.